English Composition Teaches Fundamental Writing Skills

Unfortunately, many students begin their college careers without knowing how to properly writing a collegiate paper, whether that be a research paper or some sort of essay. Due to this common issue, all incoming freshmen are required to take and pass an English Composition course to learn the basics of writing. Most students think they already know the proper way to write so they are bothered by having to take such a course. Maybe if some high school teachers better prepared students for writing, this would not be a requirement.
Prior to stepping foot in a college classroom, many students take placement tests to see if they have enough knowledge to bypass taking specific courses or even to see which courses best suit their academic needs. The two main placement test prior for incoming freshmen are in the subjects of writing and mathematics. The writing exam which correlates with English Composition will determine if a student is placed in a remedial or regular class. Perhaps the student scored exceptionally high on the test or has some AP credits from high school; he or she may receive an exemption from the course all together.
Students enrolled in English Composition will learn the fundamentals of writing. This course focuses on personal essays as opposed to researched based writing; however, it touches on all areas of proper writing techniques. Most often the essay is written in prose and is either a narrative or expository story. Students writing a narrative essay will write of a particular event or experience they had while those writing an expository essay will describe a product, idea, or event in a non-personal tone.
The biggest problem students have with writing is the lack of formal training on how to write a basic paper. Professors will focus on making sure students know how to organize their ideas and thoughts that they want to incorporate in their papers. The three main components of any paper are the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. The steps to follow while writing a paper consist of brainstorming, writing a first draft, revising the first draft, and lastly, writing a final draft.
Every paper and essay must contain an introduction which is usually a paragraph two, depending on the overall length of the paper. In the introduction, students will state their thesis statement and well as a brief overview of what they will discuss in the body. The thesis statement is usually a sentence, maybe a couple, which clearly defines the purpose of the topic, argument, etc that is to be discussed throughout the paper.
The "meat" of the paper is the body paragraphs which can range from just a few to several depending on how long the paper is. The topics of the body paragraphs should be briefly mentioned in the introduction. In the body, students are encouraged to go into detail with their topics but must be careful not to go off on a tangent and accidentally introduce any new ideas.
Wrapping up the paper, is where the conclusion takes place. In essence, this part of the paper is similar to the introduction in that it briefly discusses what topics are in the body as well as paraphrases the thesis statement. The conclusion reflects on the overall paper and can be helpful in making sure that all the necessary points were covered.
English Composition courses are geared to help students set a foundation of good writing skills that will be beneficial to them throughout their college careers, despite what their majors may be. Students should embrace this course and know that they will leave with the proper tools to write well. Students interested in taking English Composition classes, commonly known as ENC 1101, can take a free college class with Test Drive College.